Daijiworld Media Network - Beltangady (SP)
Beltangady, Feb 19: The death of a man named M J Peter (38) caused due to brutal beating by a mob which had tied him up to a tree for allegedly stealing arecanuts at Totatthady village has been given a new twist. Peter's family members claim that Peter was killed on account of family squabbles. There have also been theories which seek to assert that his killing was planned in advance.
Malikudi Kancharikanda MJ Peter from Totatthady village had been accused of stealing two sacs of arecanuts from the house of Balakrishna at Kattemajalu, Totatthady, and shed of Jacob M A's house. A police complaint had been registered in the police station about this theft on Sunday. On Monday, after the general public came across Peter, they together caught hold of him, and thrashed him brutally. By the time police rescued him and admitted him into a hospital, he had breathed his last. On the very next day Balakrishna, an associate of Peter, was arrested.
Peter is survived by a brother and two sisters. The family owns 1.85 acres of land, and Peter's sympathizers claim that he was killed because of property dispute. Peter's sister has been accusing a few persons of their involvement with this murder. The names she mentions include those of close family members. She says her brother was killed not out of rage but because of a conspiracy.
Peter's mother is ill and bed-ridden and he used to look after her and a sister since the last six years out of his meager income. His mother, it is said, came to know about her son's death two days later. The family members say that Peter was not addicted to liquor in the past, and as he used to work during nights doing wood-related works, the family does not have clear idea what he was doing.
People close to Peter opine that even if he had stolen something, Peter, in spite of his bad qualities, should not have been murdered. They say the mob could have handed him back to the family after thrashing him. They pin their hopes on impartial police investigation now for justice. At the same time, there are many who feel that intervention of district superintendent of police can bring everything connected with this murder into the open.
As per voice recording containing the voice of Peter that is being circulated in social media, which was reportedly recorded minutes before his death, Peter has mentioned about the favours he had extended to the police. It is said that this issue has reached the superintendent of police too, and that he wants to pursue the case in all seriousness by entrusting it to a higher official. There is disgruntlement in certain quarters about the inefficacy of police investigation so far.